How to be useful (according to Arnold Schwarzenegger)

We’re not the strongest, smartest, or richest people we know. We’re not the fastest or the most connected. We’re not the best looking or the most talented. We don’t have the best genetics. But what we do have is something a lot of those other people will never have: the will to work.

In his book « Be useful: Seven tools for life », Arnold Schwarzenegger unveils the collection of rules that helped him become the world’s greatest bodybuilder, highest-paid movie star of his time, and governor of California, the 6th largest world economy.

Is there really a blueprint to achieve greatness?

1. Have a clear vision
2. Never think small
3. Work your ass off
4. Sell, sell, sell
5. Shift gears
6. Shut your mouth, open your mind
7. Break your mirrors

Have a clear vision

The very first thing to do is to set your goals. Finding exactly what you want to accomplish is not a trivial task, not everyone have a clear vision of what their future should look like. The idea is to set a broader goal and refine the milestones later.

Having a broad vision give you an easy, more accessible place to start from when it comes to  figuring out where and how to zoom in.

Having a clear vision will help you define the work and steps needed to achieve your objectives. It will also serve as fuel for your motivation and help you organise your schedule to save time to work on your target.

Never think small

Don’t be afraid to set the target higher. As Arnold wrote in his book « Wenn schon, denn schon », a German expression that can be translated to « If you’re going to do it, go all in ». You should put all your heart into the task, ignore the naysayers, and aim for excellence. Each objective that you reach will boost your confidence, and you will aim for higher targets that you first thought were unreachable. Greatness calls for greatness.

Work your ass off

Probably the most important section of the book. There is no secret or magic shortcut, if you want something, the only way to maximise the chance of obtaining it, is to « work your ass off ». Really working towards a vision means that you will probably have to make some sacrifices, and at some point, experience different degrees of « pain ». And that is what will put you aside from the others who never had to work hard.

If you don’t get to experience what it feels like to push yourself, to do more than you thought you were capable of, and to know that the pain you put yourself through will lead to growth that you alone are responsible for creating, then you will never appreciate what you have the way that same thing is appreciated by someone who earned it, who worked for it.

Practice makes perfect; you have to embrace the boring stuff, nail the fundamentals. Like repetition in bodybuilding or practicing your jabs as a boxer, you are building muscle memory that will make your movement sharper and more efficient.

Sell, sell, sell

Reaching your goals might require that you convince other people. If you are building a startup and need to raise found, you will have to sell your idea, your vision, and make people trust you and your project. That is the same thing if you try to get hired in your dream enterprise or enter a prestigious university, you will have to sell yourself. You are convinced of the success of your vision, you need to learn how to transmit your enthusiasm and determination to others.

Shift gears

There will be tough times, failures, people bugging you… This is when you need to stop focusing on negativity, learn how to manage through difficult times, and reframe failure. In other words: you need to shift gears. Failure is not an end, it’s an opportunity to learn and earn some experience. That’s the best teacher in the world.

Shut your mouth, open your mind

Don’t lock yourself in your own bubble, be curious and stay open-minded. You need to expand your knowledge by being a « sponge » that can absorb all the information around you. And other people, experienced people, passionate people have a lot to teach you.

Training our minds is just as important as training our bodies.

Break your mirrors

Remember to give back. Not only once you succeed to reach your goals, but along side your journey. In today’s society, despite being overconnected, we’ve never been so much isolated. By looking less at ourselves and more at each other, we can re-create links between people and elevate ourselves altogether further towards a common objective.

My thoughts on the book

It is interesting to see how the « rules » have applied to Arnold during the different arcs of his life, and to see how the vast majority of the examples and metaphors end up in the bodybuilding realm.

The rules / advices are not revolutionary, (visualise, set goals, work hard) as they can be retrieved as a basis from a lot of other personal development books. But, being written by Arnold himself and illustrated by his fascinating stories, this can fuel your motivation more than any other book.

If you are interested more in Arnold’s life, I recommend you to watch the Netflix series. And if you’re interested in bodybuilding you have to watch Pumping Iron.

Nevertheless, being honest with ourselves, we know that there is only one Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can be fueled with all the motivation in the world and follow the 7 rules described above, I’m not sure anyone would be able to achieve all the different things that Arnold managed to accomplish. That is what makes his character unique.